Extremely reliable: BERU Bi-Hex spark plugs now in the Citroën C4 and C4 Picasso as well
The French automotive manufacturer trusts in BERU’s innovative platinum spark plugs for its compact-size and van class models.
(Ludwigsburg, 26 May 2008) Citroën equips the gasoline engines in its high-volume C4 model and compact van C4 Picasso with BERU’s platinum spark plugs. The French manufacturer is equipping the gaso-line-powered 4-cylinder 1.4 16 V with 68 kW (88 HP) and the 1.6 16 V with 80 kW (109 HP) with the innovative, extremely reliable BERU product.
The slim M12 spark plugs with double hex (Bi-Hex) offer numerous design benefits: They feature a smaller thread diameter in conjunction with a longer internal thread. They can nevertheless withstand the same electrical and mechanical stresses as spark plugs with an M14 thread and the ignition is equally reliable. The geometry of the high-voltage insulator and of spark plug body had to be adjusted to the smaller design. BERU has achieved this by using a thin and long high-voltage insulator made from a special, high-purity, aluminium oxide ceramic material.
The high-performance BERU Bi-Hex spark plugs used in the Citroën C4 and C4 Picasso are characterized by an excellent cold-start per-formance even when the temperature is very low. BERU achieves this with an intentional discharge prior to the actual spark-over. Head of development, Dipl.-Ing. Hans Houben, explains the technical details: This discharge, combined with a narrow, cylindrical insulator tip, relia-bly prevents any electrical shunt between high voltage and electrical ground that can occur, especially during startup, due to electrically conductive carbon deposits. The engine thus starts reliably in any operating situation."
To ensure that the Bi-Hex spark plugs meet Citroën’s life cycle requirements, the specialist for Ignition Technology, Diesel Cold-Start Technology, Electronics and Sensors in Ludwigsburg, has fitted each ground electrode and nickel-copper-core center electrode with high temperature-resistant platinum reinforcement that is welded on by means of a 100-µ laser using a patented process. Thanks to this de-manding manufacturing technique, BERU obtains an extremely exact and very strong bond. BERU Bi-Hex spark plugs are tailored in design for the widely different gasoline engines to fulfill the highest technical requirements of the international automobile industry.
